It Wasn't Long Enough Together
by KlutzyDoraLupin
Summary: Lily was the only one to die that night in Godric's Hollow. Now James, grief-stricken, is left to raise Harry, with the help of Remus and Sirius.


"James! Take Harry and hide! Go! He's here!" Lily shouted as she felt the wards protecting their house ripple; the most evil wizard they've ever known had found them.

The panic gripped James like a vice as he took hold of his son and ran to his wife, fully intending on shoving Harry into her arms and putting himself between them and Voldemort.

But Lily had other plans; he felt that disconcerting feeling of every worry dissipate from his mind, replaced by an unexplainable happiness and somewhere in his mind, he realized that he had just been placed under the Imperius Curse.

Lily's voice floated to him through this fog, "I'm a Mudblood, James, I was never going to survive this war. You and Harry can! Go! When I'm dead, go to Sirius or Remus."

"Lily, no, please…" James forced himself to say, fighting against the urge to take Harry and run upstairs like his wife was trying to force him to do.

"I love you." Lily whispered to him before stepping up to him and giving him a quick kiss, "Be safe, please." She planted a kiss to Harry's forehead and made James run up the stairs to the nursery.

James could hear the chilling splintering of wood as Voldemort broke down the front door and as quickly as he could, he used his wand to barricade the nursery room door.

"Kill me! Not them! Please!" James heard Lily beg while he tried desperately to fight against the Imperius Curse. _He couldn't leave her down there to die for them!_ "I'm the Mudblood here! James is Pureblooded and Harry is just a baby! Please, have mercy!"

There was suddenly a crash downstairs and as much as he had wanted to be rid of the Imperius Curse only moments ago, he wished that it hadn't faded away just then.

He felt his heart shatter as he realized Lily was dead, her curse dying with her.

' _No! He still had Harry! He had to protect Harry!'_ he kept telling himself as he looked down at his sleeping son in his arms. Before he could even think to Apparate, the bedroom door blew up into splinters behind him.

He clutched Harry to his chest and narrowly missed a stream of green light aiming for his back. "I just want the boy!" He heard Voldemort shout as James put Harry in the crib and attempted to shield him.

"You're not getting my son." James told Voldemort in a shockingly calm voice.

He had no idea why Voldemort didn't just kill him right then and there.

Instead of a Killing Curse being thrown at him, he was instead hit by a powerful _Stupefy;_ and instead of hitting the wall or even the crib, he was flung right out the nursery window.

He had landed on his arm and heard a distinct _snap_ before pain shot through it completely. Groaning in pain, he tried desperately to fight the darkness closing in on him but was failing.

Seeing his wand lying some feet away from him, he made a mad crawl for it, ignoring the searing pain shooting through his whole torso. He had to get help, he needed someone to help them.

The sound of an explosion erupted above him and debris landed all around him; singed pieces of wood, bits of glass, scorched baby toys all littered the yard and he felt sick to his stomach as his mind went to Harry.

Gripping his wand, his Patronus shot out from its tip and glided down the street and he could only pray that Sirius would arrive quickly.

He felt it in the air, the sickening cold electricity Voldemort brought with him had ceased. He must've left.

"No!" James shouted at the air as he forced himself to stand and looked at his house, torn to bits and burning with his wife and child still inside. "No, please, no!" He begged as he stumbled up the walkway.

"James!" He heard someone shout behind him, he turned and grimaced at the pain it caused, "Oh God, James, what happened!?" Sirius shouted as he ran up to him.

Shaking his head, James' knees buckled beneath him and was grateful that Sirius' strong arms caught him, "He found us! Lily! She's Sirius! H-He kil-killed her!" He sputtered before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs as the weight of what just happened fell down upon him.

"Harry! James, where's Harry?!" Sirius asked in a loud voice, trying to talk over James' screams, "Where is he, James?! Come on, focus!"

Hearing his son's name had snapped him out of his grief and he stood straighter and pulled away from Sirius. Ignoring the pain shooting through him, he sprinted into the house.

Sirius followed him and let out a choked sob when he saw Lily's body splayed haphazardly on the ground, but James pointedly avoiding his wife's body and practically crawled up the stairs to get to his son.

"Harry!" James called out hopelessly as he made his way down the hallway and from a distance saw most of the walls were missing. Sirius was right behind him as he took two seconds to prepare himself for whatever state he was about to see his son in.

When he stepped into the room, he let out a broken but joyous sob as he saw Harry sitting in his crib, silently crying with a bleeding scrape against his forehead.

"He's alive." James whispered in shock as he made his way to Harry, who had his arms outstretched towards the pair.

Sirius stopped to stare at the bundle of robes on the ground and then at the gaping hole that was once a roof and wall. "How did he…survive this?"

"I've no idea." James responded while trying to lift Harry but the pain was beginning to be too much. Before he could even tell Sirius, he was already there, lifting Harry into his arms.

A loud _crack!_ came from downstairs and Remus' panicked voice echoed up to them, "James?! James where are you?!" They could hear him shouting, most likely seeing Lily's body near the foot of the stairs.

Thinking of his wife brought another wave of pain and grief through James' heart as he slowly sank to the ground, covering his face with his hands. He heard Sirius shout for Remus and felt Sirius kneel beside him, "James, hey, listen to me. We need to get you and Harry to a healer."

James dropped his hands and was slightly startled to see Remus kneeling in front of him, "He killed her." He whispered brokenly to his two best friends.

Remus closed his eyes for a moment, a tear sliding down his cheek as he did, and shook his head sadly, "I know it hurts, James, but we still have Harry."

Sirius began rocking Harry, who was slowly falling asleep, "Come on James, we need to get help. If I'm right, Voldemort is dead and it's not safe here. We need to get you and Harry to healers, we need to get Dumbledore, we need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without Lily." James said, practically deranged, "I can't. I already left her once, I can't again."

Remus nodded, sharing a confused yet worried glance with Sirius, "Okay, Sirius will Apparate with you and Harry. I'll get _Lily_." His voice cracked when he said her name and he looked away before standing, "Okay?"

James nodded mutely as he felt Sirius take hold of his wrist and after a nauseating number of spins, they were sitting in St. Mungos.

* * *

Harry had been taken to the nursery after his cut was healed, it was the only injury he had sustained.

Minerva had agreed to watch over Harry so Remus and Sirius could be with a very distraught James.

James had seemed to be calm while he was lying on the bed, Lily's body had been laid next to him upon his request and Remus couldn't find it in him to object. But once the Healers had carted her body away, James became belligerent.

"LILY! I WANT LILY! BRING HER BACK HERE!" James kept screaming in pure agony, breaking Sirius' and Remus' hearts with every syllable.

It took Remus and Sirius to hold him down while a Healer poured Calming and Dreamless Sleeping draughts down his throat for his screams to die out. But even in his sleep, he tossed and turned and whimpered Lily's name in grief.

Remus watched James sleep for only a moment then his eyes fell upon Sirius who was angrily pacing and muttering things under his breath, a deranged look in his teary eyes.

He knew without a doubt what Sirius was planning to do and he couldn't allow it to pass, they were already betrayed by one, lost another, their little family could not afford to have one sent to prison.

"Sirius." Remus called and gestured to the hall, his eyes red and swollen from his tears.

Crossing his arms tight in anger, Sirius followed Remus, his cheeks wet with the tears still flowing freely. "I'm going to find him and kill him." He growled before Remus had the chance to speak.

"No, you're not. The Aurors are already looking for him, there's no point." Remus responded firmly, determined to stop one of his best friends.

Sirius stared at him in disbelief, "He betrayed them! He betrayed _us!_ He's the reason Lily is _dead!_ " He shouted in anger, "How can you expect me to just let the bloody Aurors deal with him?! Harry has no mother because of that piece of shit we used to call a friend!"

Remus nodded to every disdainful remark, "I know, Sirius, but what good will it be for James and Harry when you're carted off to Azkaban for murder? They need you and me here, the both of us. _Peter,_ " Remus spat the name, "will be caught and we'll get justice for Lily. But right now, James and Harry are our priority. Understood?"

Sirius wiped his hand down his face before nodding, "I'm only listening to you for James' and Harry's sakes."

Nodding, Remus smiled slightly, "Of course."

* * *

Sirius had sat by James' side for nearly eight hours, ignoring the words of random people telling him he should get some rest of his own or something to eat.

"What if he wakes up and he's alone? He needs me here." Sirius would tell them each time.

Remus even offered to sit in his place while he got just a small nap or a sandwich, but Sirius just shook his head, "You should rest yourself, Remus. Or go see Harry. I'll be fine here."

Every now and then, when James would thrash in his sleep, Sirius would lean over and put his hand on James', wishing he could take all the pain away from him. But he'd have to settle for just being by his side.

He eventually rested his head on the mattress next to James' hand, slowly nodding off when he heard James say, "Sirius?" in a broken whisper.

Bringing his head up, Sirius smiled sadly and nodded, "Hey, mate, it's me."

"Lily…" James sighed, looking around, "She's gone…"

Sirius, mentally preparing for the screaming, whispered, "Yeah…she is."

The pair stayed quiet for a few moments as they let that sink in, glancing around occasionally at the plain room.

James suddenly looked to Sirius, a thought striking him, "Voldemort…Is he dead? Or did he just leave? And what about Harry? Oh god, I didn't even think of him, Sirius! I left him alone! Is he okay? Is he hurt? That cut on his head, was it bad?!" He was nearing hysterics and Sirius had to put a hand under his chin and push his jaw closed gently, like they used to in school when James wouldn't shut up about Lily.

"Calm down, Harry is in the nursery and he's healthy. The cut on his head is his only injury and it was healed slightly, there's now only a scar. And you didn't leave him alone. Remus is with him, Minerva sat with him before, and we haven't left him alone for a moment." Sirius assured him, "Drink this, you'll calm down faster." He gently commanded, handing him a vial of Calming Draught.

He waited for James to drink the whole of it before he took a deep breath, "Voldemort seems to have died. There was no body, though, as you remember, there was only his robes left behind. But Dumbledore is convinced that Harry did something that killed him. Though we have no idea what kind of magic a one-year old could've possibly performed to kill such a powerful dark wizard. But, either way, he's gone, James, we're safe."

James nodded along, the potion already taking effect, "And what about Peter? He told Voldemort where we were, Padfoot, he betrayed us. Was he captured? Did you or Remus go after him? Is he dead?"

Sirius sighed and shook his head, "I don't know. I've been sitting here for a while and haven't checked in with anyone. And I was going to go after him and kill him, but Remus, the ever present voice of reason, stopped me after telling me you didn't need me in Azkaban."

James smiled slightly at that, which quickly turned to a pained frown, "I can't believe he'd do this to us. I never suspected Peter. Not once."

Sirius looked down at that, the betrayal stung him deeply; he had trusted his Gryffindor brothers who promised him they would never turn on him like his family did, but Peter lied. And now Lily was lost. "I still can't believe it. When your Patronus arrived, I was half convinced it was just a joke. I never would have expected one of us to turn on the others this way."

"Honestly, out of all of us, I'd expect maybe Remus. But that's just because of his furry little problem, other than that, I never thought this would happen." James made a slight attempt at a joke.

Remus, who had been standing outside the door walked in, "And I expected Sirius, after taking into account his family history." He said, smiling slightly to let them know he was joking.

Sirius barely cracked a smile at the joke, then his eyes began to search Remus' arms, which were crossed tightly against his chest, "Where's Harry?"

"Harry is being watched over by Hagrid. I would have brought him but he's not allowed out of the nursery; it's warded, so no harm will come to him while he's there." He told a worried looking James, who relaxed slightly at that.

"I want to see him, though." James responded.

Remus nodded, "And you will, once you're a bit better, maybe in a few hours. You were badly hurt, James."

With a frown, James practically whined, "But I feel fine."

"James, I know you want to see Harry but you're not well; the fall was really bad and your broken bones are still mending. You just have to wait at least two more hours. He's napping anyway." Remus chided, not wanting to upset him but needing to be firm.

Sirius gave him a glare, "Can you blame him for wanting to see Harry? He just saw his wife get mur-" He began an angry rant then quickly shut his mouth when he realized what he was about to say, "James, I'm sorry." He quickly apologized, Remus following suit.

James could only nod once, "It's the truth, Padfoot."

Once again, silence filled the room as Remus sat on the edge of James' bed, none of them knowing what to say.

After nearly ten minutes, Sirius was the one to break the silence as he said thoughtfully, but with a hint of anger, "You know, Peter's Animagus being a rat should've been a great hint."

"No shit. I was just thinking that." James retorted, while Remus nodded slightly and tightened his jaw in anger. But then James closed his eyes, as if pained, "You know, I didn't even get to tell her I loved her one last time. She told me, but I…I couldn't say it back, I didn't have a chance."

"She knew you loved her, James." Remus breathed, "She knew for nearly ten years."

James nodded, "It all happened so fast. I should've fought harder." He sighed.

Sirius tilted his head slightly and, while ignoring Remus' reproachful glare, asked, "What exactly happened?"

And the three remaining Marauders sat, James retelling the trauma he and Harry endured, while Sirius and Remus listened to every word.

* * *

 _Playlist –_

 _ **Forever by Rascal Flatts**_

 _ **Breathe Me by Sia**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay, this is my first hp fanfic so go easy on me guys! hope you like it and PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS SO I FEEL LOVED**  
_


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